Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced the resignation of Ingvild Kjerkol, Norway’s health minister, after a university investigation found that she plagiarized part of her master’s thesis. Kjerkol stepped down following the probe conducted by Nord University in Bodoe, which concluded that there was a significant amount of plagiarism in her thesis submitted in 2021.
During a joint press conference, Kjerkol mentioned that she and her co-author did not intend to plagiarize other people’s work, despite the university’s findings. The 48-year-old had been serving as the health minister since October 2021 when she was appointed by Gahr Støre as part of his Labor party and Center Party coalition government.
This is the second instance this year of a Norwegian government member resigning due to allegations of academic plagiarism. In January, Sandra Borch, the minister for research and higher education, stepped down after it was revealed that parts of her master’s thesis were copied without attribution.
Gahr Støre’s coalition has faced several resignations in recent months due to various controversies. The ruling social democratic Labor party was also defeated in local elections by the conservative Hoeyre party for the first time in nearly a century. The ongoing challenges faced by the government have raised concerns about its stability and credibility among the Norwegian public.
